Some Fun for the Holidays

Thought you would get a kick out of these.

Can't post.

Too busy eating. Ugh.

In response to the response to the sigh...

May we finish many races and seasons....
But never finish this "ride"



...still having fun


Thanks to all who made 2010 more funner!

In response to the "sigh..."

There is no doubt that this season has been one that no one could have anticipated. It started with a idea, or suggestion, that in most cases would not have amounted to anything. But with this group, it's different. When the gauntlet is put down, people don't avoid, the jump in. Love that. I cannot say that I could have even come close to painting what this season would have looked like. No doubt it was fun, we knew that, but what was accomplished was so much more. I think we may have been the catalyst for Alexi Grewal.

There is no doubt that we have a great platform and are ready to move forward. I am excited for some long spring rides up epic climbs on muddy, wet roads. Bring the wind, the flats (tires), the broken wheels, and the occasional dog chase. This year was too much fun to move away from, rather move towards.

I am looking forward to all the new stories, friends, and races we go to. Going to be epic.

As for time, there is always time, you just have to decide if you value training more than sleep. I have been at the pool at midnight, and I have been on the road running at 4:30 am. And the indoor trainer, anytime. I have headlamps for late night rides on the trail or the road. Heavy jackets and hand/toe warmers for cold days, and a washing machine for dirty ones. So if it is important, you can make it happen. We all have to make that decision for ourselves. For every reason a person has for how they can't, I have twice as many for how they can.

Ride on fellas!
R

Sigh...

You can tell the 'regular' season has come to a close. All is quiet on the Arrivee front.

Except for Cris' exploits on the cyclocross front, that is. Oh, and Roger's probably putting in more miles than all of the rest of us combined.

Me, I'm sizing up the plans. Trying to think about what worked this past season, and what desperately needs help. I tweeted the other day that if I were to grow a beard, I'd look like Sergei Belov (if you don't get the reference, sorry). That means my main priority is to slim down a bit in order to not only make it to the finish of the harder races, but actually fit into my jersey so as to not appear as I am in a skinsuit.

Roger's the TT/all rounder. Cris the animal who can be up there in just about anything. Mark is the die hard.

We're missing a sprinter. Guess it's time for the big guy to suffer over the winter. Weights, check. Speedwork plans, check. Time? Not so much...

The original plan was to simply ride the Time Crunched Plan from Chris Carmichael. Then bigger aspirations came into play while suffering on four hour death marches behind RT's constant pace.

If anyone has any thoughts on how to fit in a proper training program while working, family, and (insert other time excuse here), I'd love to hear.

Until then, I promise Pilgrim's a slimmer version of Phat Pat next year. ;-)



Oh, and by the way, I have the best team in the world. Thanks to Pilgrim's, The Insurance Guys, "Packfiller", and all the guys. Great to have ACC back in buisness.

State Stage Race Champs

Things were going fast for a while.
We were all putting in the miles in order to catch up. Get faster or just get fast....
This has been an epic summer for me(Cris) personally and all of us as a team. I have been fortunate enough to not have too many schedule conflicts so It's been nice to feel and see the results of that.

The Road Trip
Bellingham Stage Race
WSBA Stage Race Championships
Cat 4

This trip would include Roger, Mark and myself along with our support crew of Jessi and Emma. Our sage and president Pat had business to take care of in the Chelan area. We missed him.
Stage races are our favorite. Roadtrips are fun. We like to sing along to songs such as "We Are The World" and some Bobby Brown and such....you know, the usual....anyway, We made it into Bellingham which I describe the trip as Seattle with an extra stomp to the face at the tail end....

Forecast, beautiful.

Stage 1
8 mile TT

A quick TT down by the bay with the salty sea air. Mostly flat with a deceiving head wind on the way back.
There were 62 registered racers for our category. A real field!

There was pain as there should be in a TT. Mark felt the pain that coincides with an overtime career work schedule, I felt the pain of trying to prove that I belong in the top half of the cat 4's and Roger felt the pain that put him into 1st place by 44 seconds with a time of 17:32.5
I found myself in 21st place about a minute out of the top 5. Ratio-wise this was turning out very similar to Whitefish.






with a little help from Master Yoda and Darth Vader we made it back to the hotel to chow and rest and prepare to almost miss the start of the criterium.

Stage 2
Sedro-Wooley Crit

I liked this course in small town Sedro-Wooley. Basic 4 corner but it had some character....I was able to get a 1989 start and said see ya later poleshot bye bye...you'll see me soon when I blow up...I'm still off the front after a few laps, Mark and Rog are at the front, but fading fast hello pack keep it going fast Roger's riding the front what's that noise? Hello Mark! I got a flat, get to the pit, get a wheel...the only 7 speed wheel there is mine push me back in...avoid almost crash, slowly work my way up, bell lap Rog on opposite side, we have to move up to avoid the crash if there is one...he does...I try to...final turn sprint past some guys Rog holds off for 2nd and I get a 10th and we stayed upright! Sweet.



..i liked that tire. a lot.


So, time to go recover and try to sleep whilst telling all sorts of jokes and giggling. Emma is a world class bed jumper and so good at stopping right at the time limit. She's gotta be, like, the best little big kid ever. ...not sure how she got that way with such goofbags for parents...he he. :)
Mark and Cris Lucas-Hodgson continued to crack jokes until the wee hours....idk, maybe 11pm? ..party animals

Stage 3
Road Race

Well, the stage was set. Someone...we didn't keep track...but SOMEONE was only 44 seconds behind Roger so the goal was to make sure no one got 44 second away off the front. Not so sure why we didn't mark the guy but...hey...whatever.

The race was a 4 lap circuit with some good climbing, a plateau and then a long descent down to the lake...I liked the course. We all noted that the neutral roll out was quite fast for a neutral roll out. ..pretty sure a few guys got dropped before the race even started...Pretty uneventful first lap and a half...I had to work my way up the large field but finally made it up to the front where Roger and I started in on our song..."There comes a time, when we heed a certain call, when the world must come together as one......(USA for Africa...duh)...of course the peloton thought we were geeks...we are...so, one guy decides to go and he gets off the front maybe 25 seconds or more...well, this can't happen so it's time to actually do some work. I popped up and drove the chase with two almost consecutive and pretty monsterous pulls up the gradual climb to the plateau and through the most technical corner of the course at a speed that almost sent me off the road...Roger was right behind me and as he pulled through he said something like, "that was cool.." while grinning ear to ear...I sure felt cool and there that guy was off the front about 10 seconds....we let him hang there for a bit. Some guy in a white jersey decided to attack about 3 feet over the center line...we all decided to let him go and make sure he was DQ'd....it didn't matter...we caught him on the last big hill, whizzed around the final turn, positioned ourselves for the finish....oops, I'm on the opposite side as Rog again...hope I picked the right wheel for the steep hill finish....ooops, the guy in front of me just shifted down into his small chainring going 30mph.....HEY Roger won the sprint!! We're the Washington State Stage Race Champions!! ...it's a team sport, right?

neutral my butt

We Are The World(happening right here)

I. Am. A. Monster. ...i like to think so



this guy crossed the centerline about 9 times. speaky engrish?

the REAL state Champion...of bed jumping..and picture taking!







It was another awesome experience for me/us. It's all about fun and fitness and pushing personal boundaries....In the end I was able to bump up to 16th overall. This racing season has been exactly what I had hoped for. The road racing is coming to a close soon but Cyclocross is right around the corner!


We want to thank Pilgrim's Market in CDA for partnering with us for our first season back and more. If you haven't been to the Market and Wellness center do go. It's a wonderful place to get everything from food to vitamins to workshops on health related topics and great beer and wine...which is very healthy....especially if you drink way way too much cause it cleans out your whole system by way of barf o rama and puke athons....no really though CHECK IT and our other sponsors:
Pilgrims Market and Wellness Center
and Organic Valley
and The Insurance Guys

Have a great late Summer. See you on the roads and in the mud.

To B or not to B

Ok, last night was a mini nightmare, and I mean MINI.

The twilight series transferred ownership for a day from the Baddlands club to Spokane Rocket Velo. First of all, thanks to BOTH of these clubs. Racing exists in this community largely from the efforts of these groups.

The course promised something I love, few hills. Rolling terrain was used many times in description. "Pat," I thought to myself, "this is something you would do pretty well at." (I know, I ended a sentence with a preposition, but heck, it's my inner voice...


So I drove out to the race, paid my thirteen bucks, and got ready to roll with the A pack.


Herein lies the first problem. The A pack. I'm coming back to cycling from a MULTIPLE year layoff. Fitness is coming, but not quite there yet. My teammates, RT in particular, were 'upgraded' to the A pack the day of my birthday. Did they/we win a lot of races, forcing us to move up? Nope. Sure, RT won some, but not in a dominating style. CL managed some placings, but at the expense of his complete energy reserves. B pack racing was fun, competitive, and I was able to participate in the action of the race.


Last night, not so much. I basically paid $2 for every mile I was in the pack. Yep. That's just over six miles. These guys were flying. It's as if we had all stolen something, and were being chased. My heart rate was anaerobic in the friggin' NEUTRAL start! After turning around (no way I was going to ride 23 miles alone in 90+ degree heat), I pedaled back to my car, packed up, and drove home in self produced shame. I probably looked like a kid who got picked last for dodgeball. I had thought about using the Pat Cam for the race, but thankfully didn't as the footage would have been basically of the Palouse countryside. No other racers in the picture...


The fitness is not there, yet, but I'm racing with my teammates. Sure wish there was a way to keep the team in the time machine of one month ago, at least for a few more weeks...sigh.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I know this is bike racing, and fitness must be earned.

I just wanna earn it faster, with very little effort on my part required.

The art of sitting in?

Not all things change with time…

So, I’m another year older. The day of my birth has come and gone, and, compared to last year, (the meeting of a new decade), somewhat mellow. I raced my bike with my great ‘new’ team.

You see, these guys have been cyclists all of their lives, wether or not they were racing bikes. We all started in our wee years, with bony knees, dink marks from the chain (see my earlier post) on our legs, and appetites that could, and should have, put any steady income earning family into the poor house.

We’ve all decided to come back to this element of racing (we all have ridden, some) at the same time, and thought, heck, let’s get the old team together. Kind of like the Blues Brothers’ getting the band together, but with more colorful clothing and shaved legs. The racing has been hard, but always fun after the fact when we’ve held on, been up there, and most importantly, involved in the race.

That’s where I have some concern. You see, even after YEARS away from the sport, some things haven’t changed. Some for the better, some not so much. I’m talking about non-aggressive racing. Sitting in. Sucking wheel and sprinting.

This so called ‘tactic’ is, and always will be, an unfortunate element of bike racing. It’s very specific to cycling, as I can’t think of another sport where a person of less strength can simply use others for the benefit of a high placing. Sure, in running there is some draft, but you are still working pretty stinking hard. Cycling provides a good 40% less effort when sitting in the pack, snug as a snail in the dirt.

It’s not a bad way to get placed in the top of a race. Think about it, hold on in the comfort of the pack, sprint for 500 meters, take home prizes.

But let’s put this into perspective here…

What is at stake in a local race? Are careers on the line? Pro contracts waiting for the victor of a small club race? Don’t think so. Aren’t we paying for the chance to compete? So then, why not COMPETE with some effort? Sitting in simply doesn’t make better bike racers. It is a way to do little to the overall event, and makes for some pretty good grumblings along the way from your fellow competitors.

Do yourself a favor, try the front. If you’re going to die a quick death (like I did last night) time your efforts, but make an effort just the same. I’ve always felt that to attack and go down in a blaze of lactic fueled glory is far better than a pack sprint for tenth place. Or even first place, for that matter.

Friends don’t let friends suck.

FAB FOUR +

I just wanted to say that I love my teammates. This is the best time I've had in years and rivals the best times of lives.

*Pat. Your racing mind overrides all. When the rest of you catches up it's going to be scary.

*Mark. There's fire coming out your ears because you want to be out there so bad and when you are..well,...there's FIRE coming out your ears!

*Rog. Way to make us all HAVE to work our lungs and burn our legs and detonate our aortas. I'm not talking about during the race even...the pre-race plans that hurt to imagine. ...but that's why we're here.

And to the local teams, officials and volunteers a HUGE thank you.
ACC/Pilgrim's Market have every intention to become more and more involved with our local racing scene. We really never expected to be racing together this season until early March...so we are a bit behind in our event planning but I promise, we promise to create some memorable events in our near future.

so, in closing....goodnight. :)

cris

Whitefish Stage 1 Video

Just like Roger, nothing to say, but here's video from the Great Northern Stage Race in Whitefish, MT, stage 1 criterium.

Arrivee/Pilgrim's - Another victory!

Oh, and Cris, whenever you're ready to get into soundtracks, let me know. The music is cheesy...

Whitefish Pics

Nothing to say...just pictures from the criterium, Time Trial and Road Race.